# An Analysis of the Simpsons rake scene
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 24, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808 "2004-05-24T15:52:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/1 "2004-05-24T15:52:51Z")
In [Cape Feare](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/9F22.html) we have a scene that has been with me to this day. Sideshow Bob follows the simpsons to their new residence and steps on a rake… again, and again, and again, and again, and again… and again, and again. And then he steps on it again.
I laughed, stopped laughing, laughed again, stopped laughing for the second time and then finally started laughing again. The hugely inappropriate timing of that shot made it some of the strangest TV I had ever seen. Later on, the effect was over-used and greatly diluted by Family Guy which unfortunately made it a lot less funny but, the first time I saw that scene, it absolutely floored me.
Was this the first time such a technique had been used on TV? Or ever? Has anybody else tried to use it again? Was anybody else as affected by this scene as I was? The sense of timing on it was just pure genius.
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/2 "2004-05-24T16:22:44Z")
From [The Simpson Archives](http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-3.html):
> [@](#):
>
> What’s the deal with the rake scene in Cape Feare?
>
> According to the writers, the truth is that the episode was running short, and so the rake scene was stretched out in order to fill time.
This was from Season 5, IIRC, so the DVD will probably come out for the winter Holiday. It’ll be interesting to see what the commentary track will have to say about this scene.
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### Author:  [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/3 "2004-05-24T16:37:39Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Later on, the effect was over-used and greatly diluted by Family Guy which unfortunately made it a lot less funny but, the first time I saw that scene, it absolutely floored me.
I assume that you are talking about the bruised shin scene from _Wasted Talent_. I didn’t see the two scenes as even remotely similar. With the rakes, it was the sheer absurdity of it: Bob steps on a rake, turns, does it again, etc… and as the camera pans out, we see that he’s standing in a veritable forest of rakes, grimly making his way out by stepping on them one at a time. The absurdidty of the entire setup is what makes the scent priceless.
In Family Guy, Peter bangs his shin, and then spends about 30 seconds grabbing it, then hissing through his teeth “ssssssst!-OW!”. The absurdity here is a) That he does it for so long, yea, we’ve all had bruised shins, but that’s an extreme reaction and b) Well, bruising your shin DOES hurt like a motherfuck and sometimes when it happens we’d like to sink to the ground and just whimper for a few minutes. Peter goes ahead and does it, creating an absurdity we can all see ourselves doing.
In short, the comedy in Bob’s scene depends on an absurd location and props ( a field of rakes), while in Peter’s it comes from the actions (and overreactions) of the character himself( although Bob’s repeated “Step, WHACK!, gergergerowl” is priceless too ) .
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### Author:  [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/4 "2004-05-24T17:37:43Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Was this the first time such a technique had been used on TV? Or ever?
No. This very comic device has been used quite effectively in the old MGM “Tom & Jerry” cartoons from the 1940s. There, it wasn’t a forest of rakes but two placed facing each other so that Tom, dazed and woozy from being smacked in the face by the first rake, would stumble backwards into the second rake, getting smacked in the back of the head, woozily stumbling forward onto the first rake… and so on and so forth.
I’m sure it’s been used in the intervening time between MGM’s heyday and the Simpsons’ fifth season, but I can’t think of any examples at the moment.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/5 "2004-05-24T17:39:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Step, WHACK!, gergergerowl" is priceless too )
That’s what makes the whole bit.
Step. WHACK! Ow! Ow, owowoow, sunufa owowo!
Step. WHACK! Yowch! Augh!
Just wouldn’t be the same without that deadpan grumble.
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### Author:  [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/6 "2004-05-24T18:19:24Z")
> [@Weirddave](#):
>
> I assume that you are talking about the bruised shin scene from _Wasted Talent_. I didn’t see the two scenes as even remotely similar.
To be fair, _Family Guy_ has done quite a few of the long-take style gags: Quagmire fishing around for his keys (with his hand mercifully below camera line); Quagmire making ready to put the moves on Lois (jiving, mixing a cocktail), etc. I never thought of these jokes as _Simpsons_ rip-offs because the “rake gag” is such a comedy staple that the bit with Sideshow Bob comes off as more of a parody, a slapstick bit consciously taken well beyond the point of absurdity.
BTW, apparently a recent _Simpsons_ episode contained a [dis](http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid-146/epid-280493/) wherein some girl insults Bart by calling him “Family Guy!”. Those _Simpsons_ writers sure don’t like _Family Guy_, huh?
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/7 "2004-05-24T18:36:01Z")
Not to mention the Halloween episode where Homer found the cloning hammock and one of the clones came out looking like Peter Griffin.
I love Family Guy, but I think even Seth McFarlene knows at it’s heart, Family Guy is a Simpsons imitator.
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### Author:  [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/8 "2004-05-24T20:29:17Z")
In one of the episode commentaries included on the third season DVD, the Simpsons writers/actors present discuss their wariness regarding Family Guy. I can’t remember much, but they said that it didn’t work because they only had one writer - they claimed the necessary creativity wasn’t possible this way. I’m not sure if this is true anymore, or if it ever was, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
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### Author:  [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/9 "2004-05-24T20:57:44Z")
Just curious - am I the only one who didn’t find the rake scene the slightest bit funny?
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### Author:  [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/10 "2004-05-24T21:00:55Z")
> [@Thirty-Nine](#):
>
> In one of the episode commentaries included on the third season DVD, the Simpsons writers/actors present discuss their wariness regarding Family Guy. I can’t remember much, but they said that it didn’t work because they only had one writer - they claimed the necessary creativity wasn’t possible this way. I’m not sure if this is true anymore, or if it ever was, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
That’s interesting, because if one were to glance at the back of a Family Guy DVD box, they’d see that well more than “one writer” is credited. Curious, that.
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### Author:  [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/11 "2004-05-24T21:23:16Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#):
>
> That’s interesting, because if one were to glance at the back of a Family Guy DVD box, they’d see that well more than “one writer” is credited. Curious, that.
They must’ve assumed that Seth is the only writer (seeing as he’s the creator and principle voice artist), a pretty sloppy assumption for tv-savvy people to make.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/12 "2004-05-24T21:27:40Z")
There’s an old Steve Martin movie (Pennies From Heaven?) where he pours coffee grinds for a ridiculously long period of time, to make some strong-ass coffee I suppose. I thought that was an example of the funny, not funny, then funny again concept.
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/13 "2004-05-24T21:53:31Z")
> [@blowero](#):
>
> Just curious - am I the only one who didn’t find the rake scene the slightest bit funny?
Right there with wa…
Funny–\>Not Funny almost never gets back to funny for me.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/14 "2004-05-24T22:17:21Z")
Also in the funny to not funny to funny again is Freakazoid’s 30 second spittake.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/15 "2004-05-24T22:21:17Z")
I’d say that the bit in Family Guy where Peter is fighting a chicken should also be included. It’s not just that he’s fighting a chicken (a fairly ludicrous idea to begin with) so much that the thing just goes on and on and on for like five minutes of screen time.
“Chicken. Gave me a bad coupon.”
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/16 "2004-05-24T22:26:59Z")
Family Guy does that constantly. On the live-action side of things, David Letterman is known for doing that kind of gag over and over.
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> The sense of timing on it was just pure genius.
The timing is everything with that gag. They keep making you think it’s over and then doing it that one more time, so it makes the ‘surprise’ work again and again.
> [@Weirddave](#):
>
> In short, the comedy in Bob’s scene depends on an absurd location and props ( a field of rakes) […]( although Bob’s repeated “Step, WHACK!, gergergerowl” is priceless too ).
Rake to the face is only moderately funny, and the field of rakes is absurd, but I’m with **gotpasswords**. I think what makes it great - even if it was only supposed to be a time-killer - is Bob trying to maintain his serious, murderous rage despite the repeated whapping.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/17 "2004-05-24T22:45:40Z")
It’s all in keeping the attitude. Sideshow Bob’s understated rage ranks with Jim Ignatowski’s befuddled earnestness in the classic scene from Taxi.
“what does a yellow light mean?”
“Slow down!”
“Whaaaat doooooes a yelllllllloooow liiiiiight meeeeeean?”
“Slow down!”
“Whaaaaaaaat. Dooooooooooooes. AAAAAAA. Yellllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooow. Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean?”
People swear it went on for minutes, although trascripts show it was only three times.
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/18 "2004-05-24T22:56:30Z")
> [@Revtim](#):
>
> There’s an old Steve Martin movie (Pennies From Heaven?) where he pours coffee grinds for a ridiculously long period of time, to make some strong-ass coffee I suppose.
Not quite.
> [@](#):
>
> Looks like you could use some of my famous java.
That was _Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid_. Comedy Gold.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/19 "2004-05-25T00:16:05Z")
Yup, that was it, thanks **kaylasdad99**
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### Author:  [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-analysis-of-the-simpsons-rake-scene/246808/20 "2004-05-25T00:49:10Z")
In a Simpsons FAQ I read that the rake scene is long only because they needed to fill out time. The episode was too short.
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